Our Environment
A Peaceful Haven
Sangsurya Retreat Centre has been hosting spiritual and life education, mindfulness and personal development retreats for many years and the gentle, serene ambience has permeated throughout the property and is tangible to all who come here. This peaceful venue offers a true break and release from the burdens and demands of the commercial world and the busyness of daily life. Respect for each group’s privacy is a priority and retreat leaders and their participants have sole use of the venue while in residence.
With time and space to self-reflect and heal, guests feel enriched and connected to their own source of wisdom. They value the earthy, well-established environment and regularly report transformational insights and life guidance on how to live in an ever-changing and increasingly challenging world. Our teachers acknowledge that the relaxing and nurturing their students receive is greatly supported by the tranquil, harmonious, natural setting.
Building Sangsurya
In 1992, Tony and Mona began constructing their purpose-built, residential retreat venue for mindfulness meditation and personal development work. They built the group room first and a couple of bedroom studios next to the two houses already on the property. Before long, the doors opened for their first residential retreats. In fact for the first groups which Tony and Mona hosted, they generously moved out of their house to reside elsewhere, which enabled all the group’s participants to be housed, such was their dedication to providing their service of a meditation and personal growth facility.
With a clear vision and steady progress, the substantial building project unravelled, step by step. Next came the Thai House, then more accommodation and the large dining hall and kitchen. Building works continued to develop organically and no one building grew identical to another.
Each Eastern inspired bedroom and communal space was individually designed to provide an ambience of seclusion and relaxation, nestled amidst the gardens along the forested ridge on which the centre was built. Tony and Mona created Sangsurya to be a true sanctuary. The rooms all have unique features, inspired by Thai architecture with traditional Asian and Indian furniture and furnishings to make each room distinctively stunning. The property is dotted with Mona’s artwork, garden sculptures and beautiful mosaics tiles and pathways. As Tony built, Mona decorated and together they created a stylish and enchantingly secluded haven.
Sangsurya grew to have 9 residential buildings with 18 bedrooms which provide retreat accommodation for up to 30 guests. It has a large Thai style timber-floored hall for workshops and meetings, spacious kitchen and dining facilities, a swimming pool and range of communal spaces and amenities.
Rainforest Regeneration
In addition to planting sub-tropical gardens throughout, Tony and Mona reforested the western slope of the property by way of extensive research about native Australian vegetation and reforestation.
They transformed the land from a depleted cow paddock into a thriving rainforest full of native flora with walking trails and a large pond for guests to enjoy an easy stroll in nature. It is now home to an abundance of birdlife, and native fauna including koalas, wallabies, echidnas, water dragons and bush turkeys along with a range of smaller mammals.
Eco-Friendly Features
The property works included the installation of 19 Swedish Composting toilet systems, to contribute to ecological sustainability. These each save approximately 45,000 litres of water per year, making a total of 855,000 litres of our water being conserved annually. At present there are solar panels installed on the two largest sunlit rooftop spaces, powering over 50% of our electricity needs.
All organic kitchen waste is managed through vegetable composting units and worm farms, then worked back into the gardens. Non-compostable waste is managed with responsible recycling. Household waste water is processed through a series of reed-bed systems. Housekeeping uses eco-friendly cleaning products and organic soaps are provided for our guests.